Fay Miller
Name: Fay Miller
Age: Perfect (64 actually)
Occupation: Civil Celebrant
Hobbies/Interests: Family and friends, gardening, reading, music, photography, my labrador Kizzie
I am standing for Mayor because:
I want Katherine to be a place where people are proud and happy to live, raise their family, retire or just visit for a holiday.
I have extensive experience across the business, tourism, council, government and community sectors and have the energy and drive to work hard for Katherine.
I am passionate about Katherine because:
Katherine has a great community spirit and fabulous lifestyle.
We are surrounded by magnificent parks and rivers – real adventure territory and a great drawcard for a significant economic driver – tourism.
I promote Katherine as a great destination at every opportunity.
Three main drawing cards for Katherine are:
Tourism is the main drawing card for Katherine with our town being the crossroads north/south and east/west. We are the centre of adventure territory – surrounded by magnificent parks and rivers – with Nitmiluk Gorge being the jewel of attractions.
Our river systems are very attractive to amateur fisherman with barramundi being the prize catch. Katherine is also importantly a service centre for health, legal and government departments for local and surrounding communities.
Three areas Katherine needs to improve in (and how):
1. Without a doubt I see antisocial behavior as the biggest threat to our town and the negative image we already have as a result of antisocial behaviour.
I would like to see purpose trained Rangers employed by Council to address this very difficult issue.
2. The provision of short term accommodation - for community visitors who are in Katherine for health, family or business reasons would go a long way in assisting the enforcement of “No Camping” bylaw.
I would want Council to liaise with organizations already established in Katherine to work towards provision of short term accommodation facilities.
We need to consistently and persistently enforcing bylaws eg: No Camping, No Drinking.
3. We do not take advantage of the Katherine River. It is the first constant flow of running water after you leave Port Augusta in South Australia.
People are drawn to water especially when you are a tourist - and we are missing a great opportunity to develop a picnic area under the High Level bridge to encourage visitors to appreciate the Katherine River. Further to the picnic area, interpretive paths could be developed to take in bush tucker and the flora and fauna of the river corridor, in addition to the history of the railway bridge.
As the Mayor of Katherine I would:
Ensure there was good dialogue between the Mayor, CEO and Alderman and engage with the business community and community groups regularly.
I believe its extremely important for the Mayor to be accessible, be a good listener and be prepared to stand up for Katherine at all levels of government.
To tackle anti-social behavior in Katherine I would:
In consultation and agreement with Council I would like to see Rangers trained and employed by Katherine Town Council to specifically address council bylaws.
I would also meet regularly with the Police and other agencies funded to address antisocial issues, to ensure there was coordination of activities – to be working together for the best and achievable outcomes for Katherine.
My main ideas to make the main street/town more attractive to visitors are:
To ensure that visitors feel safe by the presence of Rangers – especially around the Katherine Visitor Centre.
This area is a total embarrassment especially during the tourist season.
Urban enhancement of tree planting especially along Giles Street, additional shade trees and seating at the Cemetery, increased bike and walking paths, update signage at places of interest such as railway bridge, install signage re No Camping in appropriate locations, develop a picnic area under the high level bridge to encourage visitors to Katherine River.
I plan to engage the community in Council activities by:
I would like Council to return to open Council meetings where issues are debated in public.
It encourages the community to observe their elected representatives debating important issues.
I believe interest has waned considerably because the public see Council meetings currently as just “rubber stamping”.
I would anticipate that other current community and council activities such as the Katherine Festival would continue in popularity.